Los Angeles -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The estranged husband of `` Real Housewives of Beverly Hills '' cast member Taylor Armstrong apparently killed himself in his home , according to police and the Los Angeles county coroner 's office .

Russell Armstrong 's lawyer said he 's `` 100 % convinced '' Armstrong 's role in the reality show created his depression , but he does not blame the Bravo network for his death .

Investigators did not find a suicide note near the body of Armstrong , 47 , who was pronounced dead at 8:16 p.m. Monday , Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter said Tuesday . His body was found in a Mulholland Drive home in the hills above Bel Air , California , Winter said .

`` It does appear to be a suicide by hanging , '' Los Angeles Police spokesman Richard French said .

Armstrong was the subject of numerous celebrity gossip website stories in recent weeks that detailed allegations of abuse made against him in his pending divorce .

After Taylor Armstrong filed for divorce last month she told People magazine that she was verbally and physically abused during their nearly six-year marriage .

`` I felt like I was dying inside , '' she told People . `` Now , there 's some sense of peace . ''

In his interview with People , Russell Armstrong said , `` Maybe things happened in the heat of the moment , but it was during a time in our lives that was not characteristic of who we were . This show has literally pushed us to the limit . ''

Ronald Richards , who was Russell Armstrong 's lawyer , said in an interview Tuesday with A.J. Hammer , host of HLN 's `` Showbiz Tonight , '' that the response to the divorce filing was sitting on his desk and had been about to be filed in court .

`` He did not want the divorce at all , but he was willing to accept her decision , '' Richards said . `` He tried to fix some of her concerns , but as I 've advised many couples in this area , including Mr. Armstrong , these shows have a way of tearing apart a marriage when one spouse takes a certain directions and the other spouse is left kind of supporting the financial part of the marriage . ''

Armstrong , who was defending himself against a multimillion-dollar lawsuit , was financially drained , Richards said . His credit cards had been suspended , adding to the pressure , he said .

But his downfall was caused by his role in the reality show , he said .

`` I 'm 100 % convinced and based on facts that this show led to his depression on a couple different grounds , '' Richards said . `` One is that the show characterized him as someone that abused his spouse . It highlighted ancient financial negatives in his past and put him in a spotlight that he was n't equipped to deal with . ''

His lawyer said the allegations of verbal and physical abuse stemmed from `` drunk arguments . ''

`` That 's what they were dealing with here , '' he said . `` There may have been the normal type of kind of shoving that drunk people sometimes get into . ''

A combination of factors stemming from the show were `` wearing on him , '' his lawyer said .

`` There 's the appearance that she 's moving forward as a celebrity , '' Richards said . `` He 's now a divorce male with kids and he still has a tremendous debt service that he was handling for both of them that was supporting their lifestyle . ''

The sudden celebrity that followed the Armstrong 's appearance on `` Real Housewives '' was overwhelming to the couple , he said .

`` When that sort of stardom attacks a marriage sort of overnight , like in the case of a reality TV star , it 's not like an actor that progressively moves up the ladder and the couple deals with this in stages , '' he said . `` A reality show takes an average person that has no stardom and throws them into a public spotlight literally within a couple of episodes , and a lot of couples are not prepared for that and this is a very unfortunate consequence . ''

Still , Richards said he does not blame the network for his client 's depression and death .

`` A network can not be held accountable to people 's voluntarily opening of their doors of their private lives . The adults that allowed this to happen to them are responsible , '' the attorney said . `` The network is justified in making good television out of their conflict . ''

Armstrong 's death should serve as a warning to the dangers people face when they sign up for a reality show , he said .

`` Adults need to go into these things with your eyes wide open , -LRB- realizing -RRB- that if you 're going to have a network cover your private life , you become a public figure , people can comment about you and there 's a high degree of probability that your marriage will end up in shambles as a result of this newfound scrutiny by the public and by the TV network that is covering our private lives , '' Richards said .

The network that carries the show issued a short statement Tuesday morning :

`` All of us at Bravo are deeply saddened by this tragic news . Our sympathy and thoughts are with the Armstrong family at this difficult time . ''

CNN 's Brittany Kaplan and Jack Hannah contributed to this report .

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NEW : Lawyer : `` I 'm 100 % convinced '' the reality TV role created his depression

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Russell Armstrong appears to be `` a suicide by hanging , '' police say

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Armstrong apparently left no suicide note , the coroner says

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He and reality show cast member Taylor Armstrong were divorcing